


Playing With Fire

by Aliyah_Faith



Category: One Direction (Band), ziam - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-13
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-23 07:55:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/923816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aliyah_Faith/pseuds/Aliyah_Faith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam and Zayn had been inseperable since before they could remember. Every summer when the Malik's moved to their summer home, the boys would be together all day every day until the summer ended. Until Zayn professed his love and Liam kind of brushed it off, and then Zayn didnt come back the next summer, or the one after that, and then when he did he came back alone. He didnt speak to Liam and held a house full of secrets.</p><p>I am so shit at descriptions, its not even funny. Its a Ziam, there could be smut near the end, its a love story with angst and a slow build. Enjoy:)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Thinking back, Liam couldn’t remember a time when he and Zayn weren’t friends. Since they were in diapers, the summer time was reserved for them to be like brothers. That's just how it was. Zayn's family moved for the summer to their second home, which was next door to Liam's, it had been this way since before either boy was born. It was all they knew. 

~~

*May 28th, 2003*

Zayn groaned from the backseat and looked out the window. He sat in the very back of the loaded up SUV, looking out the window and groaning and shifting positions every five minutes. He started tapping his foot on the seat in front of him, smiling as his older sister turned and glared. 

“Stop...” She snapped before turning and directing her attention back to the book in her hands. He tapped his feet again and she whined. “Muuuummm, Zayn’s kicking my seat again!” She crossed her arms and pouted like a child, feeling triumphant when their mother turned from the front seat and sent Zayn a look. 

“Can you guys please try to stay off of each other’s nerves? Let’s have another relaxing summer, please?” She asked, and both Zayn and Doniya nodded their heads and stayed quiet, much like their younger siblings. Waliyha was three, and asleep in her car seat, mirroring Safaa, who was one and starting to nod off. Zayn tried to nap for the rest of the ride. 

“We are here” Were the three words that jerked him back to consciousness. He opened his eyes and unbuckled in one shift motion as they piled out of the car. Zayn stood by his mom, bouncing on the heels of his feet and eying the brown house next door. 

“Can I go now? Just for a second and then come back and get my stuff inside? Please please ppplleeeaaasseee” He begged, she just smiled and nodded muttering about how she figured that she would lose him as soon as they arrived. He just grinned and took off across the yard, nearly tripping up the steps as he knocked on the door and waited. The door opened a few moments later and Zayn was engulfed in a hug. He smiled and hugged Liam back. That's how that summer went.

There were only a few nights out of each week that they didn’t spend together, but on those nights they normally snuck out and slept in the tree house on the back of the property. It was hard to get to, what with all of the sticks and trees but it was a familiar path for the boys. They had brought flashlights, snacks, blankets and pillows to keep up there. They had each brought some comic books and kept them in there as well, it was their little hide out, always had been. They were a couple of ten year old boys, with their lives ahead of them.

The next summer was the same. Their conversations slowly changed from comic books to movies, from movies to TV shows, and so on. For fourteen summers in a row, they were inseparable. But everything good comes to an end. The summer following the fourteenth was where it had all started to change. Zayn endured the ride there with his family, rolling his eyes at his sisters and trying to shake off the nerves of seeing Liam again. He had gotten there, and was nearly immediately shocked. He made his way over to the next house, like he had for the past many summers, and knocked on the door. Liam answered, like normal but Liam looked different, not body wise. He was still pretty big there, not fat, but he had always been bigger than Zayn, more muscled, a little taller, broader shoulders, that sort of thing. But his hair was gone. The half tamed head of curls that Zayn had loved was gone; all that was left was a thin layer of hair. 

“You got it buzzed? Why?” Were the first words of Zayn's mouth, Liam just laughed. 

“Well hi to you too!” He spoke enthusiastically, pulling Zayn into a hug. Zayn just smiled and relaxed a moment, hugging him back. Liam eventually let go in time for his phone to start ringing from his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at Zayn. “I have to go right now, but meet me in the tree house tonight? We can catch up” He said, Zayn nodded and made his way back to his own house, feeling slightly disappointed. 

He was there that night, and after an hour of waiting, Liam appeared there. He plopped himself onto the floor by Zayn and spoke the phrase that would ruin the rest of the summer. 

“I'm leaving tomorrow for camp,” He started, and Zayn didn’t even try to keep his jaw from dropping. Liam continued. “It’s a football camp, you remember me telling you last year I was going to play? Well I did, and I liked it..so I’m going with the team to the camp. It’ll last the whole summer.. But we can still talk sometime, give me your number, I finally got a phone” And that set the tone for the night. Zayn just nodded the whole time, giving an ‘ahh’ or ‘cool’ when it was needed, but he didn’t feel like talking. He wasn’t ready to spend the summer alone. But he had a lot of time to think that summer, about a lot of things, mainly Liam. He was developing feelings for the puppy eyed boy, and it scared him, a lot. At first he had brushed it off, thinking that it was nothing and it was normal best friend feelings. But it wasn’t. He didn’t want to kiss any of his other friends; he didn’t want to hug any of his other friends. He wasn’t sure if he was gay, or really what to label himself, but it didn’t matter, he had time. He thought. 

The sixteenth summer is when it all ended. Zayn had spent the year prior to it in anticipation of seeing Liam again. He hadn’t seen him since that night in the tree house, but they texted a lot, had some phone calls. And at this point it was safe to say that Zayn was absolutely smitten. His family arrived a little bit later that night, but Zayn knew Liam was still awake because his light was on, and Liam had said he was waiting up for him. So after they got fully unpacked Zayn slipped out of the house and over to Liam's. He climbed the tree that was fairly conveniently placed near the bathroom window upstairs, he slid through and quietly made his way down the hall to Liam's room, like he had done so many times before. He was greeted with a hug that nearly made him gasp for air. 

“Oh my god, Li..you’re ripped” Were the only words that managed to make it out of Zayn's mouth. Liam had apparently been working out. Sports had done him good. He still had the short hair, but his build had gotten bigger, he had all around gotten even cuter, if that was possible. They stayed up for a few hours that night before falling asleep on Liam's floor. Liam told him that he was leaving again tomorrow for camp, and that Zayn could come with to drop him off. Zayn agreed. 

The next day was great, they had breakfast together, Zayn watched Liam as he panicked and went through his back fifteen times to be sure that he had everything packed. And they left, Zayn in the back with Liam, Liam's parents in the front. They got to the school where the bus was leaving from and things were still fine, until a taller black haired girl made her way over to Liam and made a show of draping herself across him and kissing him, he just smiled and returned the kiss. Zayn felt his jaw drop yet again and he didn’t even try to care that he was gawking. Liam's parents just smiled and continued on their conversation like it was fine. And it hit Zayn, of course Liam was straight. He wanted to kick himself for leading himself on and not noticing sooner. They pulled back and Liam seemed to remember Zayn. He introduced them and Zayn simply grunted in response, not even bothering to learn her name, it didn’t matter anyways. Liam noticed his sudden change in attitude and pulled him aside as people started piling onto the bus. 

“Dude, what’s the matter, and don’t tell me nothing.. I can tell, something’s wrong” Liam spoke, and Zayn felt like he was going to cry for being so stupid. He figured there would be no better time than now.

“I love you, Liam. And don’t say you love me too because it’s not in the same way. I love you as my best friend, and something more…I have for a while now,” He paused, looking at Liam who just stood there, eyes wide. He muttered out an ‘oh’ and there was an awkward silence before Zayn felt the tears well up in his eyes from the rejection. “but I can see now that these feelings won’t be reciprocated so I guess I’ll just go. I'm sorry…Have a great summer” He said, turning and swiping at his face as the tears spilled. He glanced back, almost hoping Liam would be running after him, but he wasn’t. He was running away from him and getting on the bus. That's how it would have to be. They weren’t meant to be anything other than friends. Zayn changed his number that summer, his mom not asking why, he gave her the money for it and she just did it. Zayn spent the rest of his summer inside, mainly in his room. He avoided going out to the tree house, he avoided even looking over at the Payne household. The summer passed quickly and they left before Liam got back, again. Zayn was fine with that. 

When Liam got home, he had made his way quickly over, only to see that they had already gone. He spent the last week before school moping. He spent the whole year tapping his foot and watching the clock. Waiting for the summer. He spent the year fumbling with the ball because his mind was elsewhere. He was busy letting his mind travel back to Zayn's words. He thought daily about them. He thought over how he replied and the look on Zayn’s face when he did. Zayn was hurt. And Liam felt like a prick. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that he might have reciprocated the feelings. He loved Zayn, like a brother. But the more days that passed, the more Liam found himself thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to kiss him or hold him. The more he wished he could. Liam left that summer for camp, disappointed that he didn’t see Zayn first, his mom promised to let him know if they showed up through. They didn’t…


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my lawd, you guys I suck. My beta sent me this chapter back like three days ago and Im almost done with writing the third chapter (Itll be finished and sent to my beta tonight) and I remembered that she replied and I never posted it. IM SO SORRY FORGIVE ME AND ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!

Liam first started noticing people moving in and out of the house a few days after Christmas. The vehicles ranged from an electrician, a plumber, a home cleaner, and a few other people to check the pipes and such. His mom noticed as well, just nodding her head as she sipped her coffee and commenting that someone must have bought it. Liam just frowned softly, and nodded. He didn’t recall it being up for sale, he remembered that Zayn had said once it was already fully paid off and one of them (either him or one of his sisters) would most likely get it when they grew up. But they hadn't been back in a few summers, Zayn had changed his number and refused to answer any letters. Maybe they had sold it. Maybe they moved out of the country, Liam had considered all of the options. He turned away from the window and walked upstairs to distract himself with his school work. He was in his final year of high school and had finals in a few months that he didn’t feel at all prepared for. He had a scholarship waiting for him to head to one of the top colleges. It was a sports scholarship. He still played football, but he wasn’t too sure that he really wanted to play anymore, or professionally. He liked the game, but he didn’t have the passion for it that he used to. He honestly didn’t know what he wanted to do after school. He didn’t want to be a doctor, a lawyer, even a tech expert, he didn’t know what he wanted. And he was running out of time to decide. 

It wasn’t until about a month later that he pulled his car into the driveway after a long Wednesday at school, he glanced over to the Malik house, like he always did on instinct, even though he would deny it, and was shocked, to say the least, to find an SUV there. It was black, and all too familiar. It was the SUV he used to wait to see pulling in at the beginning of every summer and the SUV he would wave to at the end. His eyes widened and he stared for a few more moments before shutting off his car and running inside, finding his mom in the kitchen immediately. 

“Did you know the Maliks are back??” He shouted, dropping his books. His mom jumped from her place at the stove and his sister turned from her place at the table, she was the youngest of his two older sisters and the only one of the two still living at home. 

“Jesus, Liam…Try not to scare the crap out of everyone next time” She spoke, getting up and walking out. Liam barely even heard her, he just kept his eyes on his mom, who just lifted her shoulders. 

“I don’t know?” She spoke, looking a little bit confused. Liam lifted his eyebrow and she sighed. “Seriously, Liam. The vehicle has been there since about 9, I didn’t see it pull in and I haven’t seen anyone outside, but im not going and poking my head around through the windows. Now go get your work done and relax” She spoke. He just sighed and nodded his head, trudging up the stairs. 

 

For the next few days, no matter how hard he tried, he managed to somehow avoid seeing anyone besides the car. By the time he got up and was getting ready for school, the vehicle was gone and would be back by the time he got back from school. It was Friday night when he seen more than the vehicle. He had gotten home from school at a normal time and pulled on his hoodie, going outside into the February air and sitting on the shoveled porch. He sat crooked so he could face the neighboring house. He pulled his hood up and his phone out as he leaned back against the railing, after about five minutes he heard a door slam, lifting his head immediately he was met with a sight for sore eyes. He watched as Zayn jogged down the steps, keys in hand and immediately over to the SUV. He smiled and just watched him, noting how much older Zayn looked than he had a few years ago. He was in a dark blue button up shirt and a pair of nicer black pants. Zayn glanced up and they connected eyes for a second, causing him to slow in his steps. But as quickly as the moment started, it stopped. Zayn looked away and didn’t waste time sliding into the driver’s seat and leaving. Leaving Liam to frown and sit confused staring at the dark house.

This is how things went for the next week , Liam only got a glimpse of Zayn or seen him walking to the vehicle at around 5 at night and he heard the vehicle pull back in at around one in the morning, but it was gone again by the time he got up at 6:30 in the morning. He only seen Zayn, he hadn’t seen his mom or dad or any of his sisters. By the time the following Friday had rolled around, Liam's curiosity had gotten the best of him and he found himself sitting by the window at 4:45 and waiting for Zayn to leave. But he didn’t, Liam let his nose crinkle up as a car pulled into the driveway and a woman got out, she was wearing a pair of nicer pants and a button up shirt, holding a bag. She glanced around and then slowly headed up the steps, only for Zayn to greet her at the door with a hug and invite her in. Liam frowned. So instead of going to wherever he normally went, he had a girl over. Liam let the thought repeat itself as he stood and walked inside. He chastised himself for caring that Zayn had a girlfriend, he was allowed. He distracted himself for the next few hours, rechecking over homework, cleaning his room, he even folded some of his sisters laundry and vacuumed all of the rooms, ignoring the odd looks he received from his family. 

Come time to go to bed, Liam walked back by the window, staring outside squinting his eyes. The girls car was gone, and Zayn's vehicle wasn’t in sight. Before he could stop himself, he was slipping on his shoes and sliding out the back door. He glanced around after he crossed the back yards and was standing behind the window he knew didn’t lock. He swallowed hard once, deciding if he was really going to do it. He gave after a few seconds and shimmied the window up, hoisting his body up and through it, landing on the plush carpet of the spare room in the backroom. He glanced around after carefully shutting the window. Things looked the same as he remembered them. He quickly wiped his shoes and made his way out into the dark kitchen, pulling out his phone and selecting the flashlight app he lit up the room. It, matching the rest of the downstairs, looked the exact same. There were photographs up on the walls, a fresh smell throughout the house, like it hadn’t sat for a year with no one in it. The carpets were clean, freshly vacuumed, no doubt. This wasn’t the Zayn that Liam had remembered, he was a little messy, fairly clean but not this clean. There wasn’t a speck of dirt out of place. 

Liam turned and headed up the steps slowly, poking his head in the bathroom at the top, finding a black towel on the rack and a light blue by it, the black one was still slightly damp, and smelled good. Good going, Liam. Smelling his towel wasn’t at all creepy.. He scolded himself as he slid out of the room and down the hall. The first room to the right was the master bedroom, Liam slowly opened the door, a little bit shocked to find the room…different. It was Mr. and Mrs. Malik’s bedroom. The main room, the bed was made, but looked dusty and unused, like the tops of the furniture. There were a pair of shoes in the middle of the floor, also looking undisturbed, and a t-shirt laying on top of the dresser. Liam let his eyebrows crinkle in confusion and he shut the door. He found the one right across the hall, the one he remembered to be Waliyha and Doniya’s room, the same. The two beds and all of the furniture in there were undisturbed, the room was messy, a few pairs of shorts and flip flops flung across like they had been left in a hurry. He knew that the girls left a majority of their summer clothes there because they couldn’t wear them back home in the winter. 

Liam frowned again and shut the door, surprised to find the next room in perfect order, freshly cleaned and bright colored. It was the same room where Safaa’s used to be. It was freshly painted though, the furniture was the same, just polished. Liam let his eyebrows knit together in confusion yet again and he slowly walked out, shutting the door. He felt his heart beat louder as he headed down to the end of the hall, to the room he had spent a big portion of his childhood in. He swallowed hard again and reached for the handle, twisting it as the light above him in the hallway came on and a voice spoke from behind him. 

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” The voice shook through the hallway, loud, and harsh sounding, Liam jumped and his feet literally left the ground as his phone dropped to the ground. He turned quickly backing himself into the door and met Zayn's eyes. His body visibly relaxed and he let out a breath, letting a smile come to his face. 

“Christ, Zayn. You scared the shit out of me, man” He spoke, Zayn's eyes just narrowed more. 

“Wouldn’t have scared you if you weren’t in my house. Now why the fuck are you here? I didn’t invite you over” He repeated, arms crossing over his chest. The more Liam looked at him up close, the more tired he looked. There was a fire burning in his eyes and his whole body was tensed. Liam let the frown stitch across his lips, this wasn’t the warm Zayn he knew. 

“I'm.. I'm sorry. I just…You were back and I kept seeing you but no one else and you haven’t come over to see me so I thought maybe there would be…I just didn’t know why.. And so I thought-“ He stuttered out, cut off by Zayn. 

“So you thought you’d just break into my home?? Like it was nothing? No! You need to get out right now before I call the police. I'm not messing around!! I'm too busy to deal with your shit right now. So go!!” He shouted, turning and pointing behind him. Liam opened his mouth to speak but only a few syllables stuttered out before he just shut it and quickly slid around Zayn, tripping over his own feet to get down the stairs and out the front door, his breathing erratic and heart pounding through his chest. It wasn’t until he slid back inside and ran into his room, dropping himself into his bed that he remembered. He forgot his phone.


End file.
